Marblehead Girls Softball all-stars win first-ever district title to begin memorable tournament run

Friday

Jul 25, 2014 at 5:54 PMJul 25, 2014 at 5:54 PM

After defeating Saugus, 9-2 on June 26 to claim the program’s first District 16 title, the Marblehead Girls Softball All-Stars entered the uncharted waters of the state sectional tournament.On June 30, the locals traveled to East Bridgewater to take down the Vikings with a hard fought 6-3 win to remain in the winners bracket.Merecedez Pellitier had two timely hits to pace the attack. Rachael Saulnier, Amanda Wager, Darcy O’Sullivan and Corrine Ahern chipped in with one hit each. Right-fielder Madi Dimare made a great catch of a sinking line drive to end the sixth. Frances Paik made an over-the-shoulder catch in short right in the seventh. Charlotte Plakans recorded seven strikeouts, while pitching a complete game effort.On July 2, the Marblehead girls entertained Woburn in the first sectional game at Vet 1, only to come out on the short end of a 2-1 score.Woburn pushed across the winning run in the home half of the seventh, all with two outs.Plakans struck out six, and yielded just one hit in a complete game effort. She only walked two, but they both scored to help account for the win.After threatening in the second with two on and no outs, Marblehead was able to push across a run in the fifth.Ahern doubled to right-center, and scored on a hard groundball out by Dimare after sliding hard into home, dislodging the ball from the catcher.Marblehead had a great chance to take the lead in the sixth. With runners on second and third and one out, a line drive to deep center by Plakans turned into a double play after a base running mistake.On the defensive front, Pellitier showed great range at shortstop, Ahern threw out a runner at home from first and Saulnier did the same from third to keep Woburn at bay.On July 5, Marblehead hosted East Bridgewater in a sectional losers bracket elimination game.The locals came away with an impressive 12-1 win to keep their tournament dreams alive. Plakans was outstanding on the hill, recording 12 strikeouts, a tournament-high, in another complete game effort. Plakans also recorded a big two-run single.Izzy Castineya clubbed a two-run triple — her second in the tournament — and Amanda Wager recorded two singles that both produced runs. Pelleiter, playing shortstop, was once again outstanding. The tandem of Halle Kuszmar and Saulnier at first was solid. Frances Paik was sharp at second. Catcher Darcy O’Sullivan did a yeoman’s job handling the offerings of Plakans flawlessly.However, on July 6, the great run ended, when the locals lost to a formidable Woburn team in the sectional finals, 13-3. Nonetheless, Marblehead finished as one of the top four teams in the state.But Woburn went on to the state finals in Winchendon the weekend of July 11, only to be eliminated by Charlton, 11-0 and 4-2.Charlton has since defeated Cranston, R.I., 12-2 and Essex, Vt., 11-1 in the Eastern Regional. Charlton took on Seymour, Conn. in a battle of unbeatens July 21 after press deadline.It was an exciting run for the Marblehead Major All-Stars. Their first district title will be remembered for years to come.Head Coach Andy Trasher should be commended for getting all 13 girls to play as one. The coaches, players and parents should all be proud of this achievement. George Shapiro and Adam Sogoloff assisted Trasher along the sidelines.The bar has now been set high for all future Marblehead girls softball all-star teams.